


Parasitic

by Teamusician



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Blood and Gore, Gen, Gore, Parasites
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:48:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27202027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teamusician/pseuds/Teamusician
Summary: Ruby heads to Beacon Academy in order to train to be a Huntress. But Ruby isn't joining Beacon for justice.A rewrite of the series, pretty much.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> How should I put this nicely? I am not the biggest fan of the RWBY series. The storywriting, worldbuilding and character development leave a lot to be desired. I have wanted to write a RWBY fic that said "fuck you" to canon for a while. And last night, I came up with a great idea - why not just torture all the characters, and chuck in some of my own? I hope you enjoy this fic, regardless of whether or not you like RWBY. This is for everyone to enjoy. Also, be warned - graphic depictions of violence, blood, and gore WILL be present in this fic. This will be your only warning.

The many laxatives Flors had taken was not enough to relieve the pains inside her stomach. They were worms, Flors was sure of it. And yet there was nothing she could do to stop them from growing. Flors shuddered at the thought of them wriggling around in her intestines, reproducing, laying eggs, eating the very food she needs to digest. 

As a last resort, Flors had come to the Mistral hospital, hoping to find a cure for her tapeworms. She sat in the waiting room, her tattered and faded pink dress a stark contrast to the bright white uniforms of the staff around her. No other patients were in the waiting room with her. Perhaps they were simply too ashamed to come to the hospital, looking as poor as Flors did. She tucked her yellow bobcut behind her ears, and looked down, not wanting to make eye contact with anybody. Not in this state, anyway.

All of a sudden, a sharp pain stabbed her stomach. This had happened to Flors many times since her infection, but this was more intense than ever before. Flors gave out a cry, making all heads in the waiting room turn toward her. The staff stayed put, waiting to see what happened next before taking any action. Flors’ vision blurred as the pain grew worse and worse, and her screams grew louder and louder. She doubled over and collapsed onto the ground, clutching her stomach.

Somebody yelled something Flors couldn’t hear, and everybody rushed out of the room. Eventually, Flors’ vision faded to black, and her screams of pain stopped. She laid motionless on the ground.

A few minutes later, the hospital staff descended upon the waiting room with a stretcher, only to find the screaming girl wasn’t there. She had left as suddenly as her pains had started. 

“Do you think she’s better now?” one asked aloud.

“I don’t know,” said a doctor. “Pains that severe don’t subside that quickly.”

The staff milled around for a while before deciding that the girl wasn’t that important, and continued on with their tasks. 

The next day, the local newspaper reported Flors Stemm as missing.


	2. Before Beacon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five-year-old Ruby Rose is playing outside, before she experiences a horrific fall.

Little Ruby Rose ran to and fro, chasing down a monarch butterfly. The sun was slowly setting, casting long shadows all over the hills and valleys, and splashing various beautiful warm colours across the sky. Ruby’s red dress floated with her as she jumped up and down, trying to grab the butterfly with her small soft hands. 

Normally, Ruby wouldn’t be allowed to go out to play this late in the evening. She was only here because of a fight with her step-sister. Stupid Yang - thinking she knew everything about the world when she was only two years older than her. Who did she think she was, anyway? _“I’m the eldest, which means YOU have to listen to me!”_ That’s not how it works! Only because of her age-

Not seeing where she was going, Ruby tripped over a tree root and fell backwards. She landed on her back, and rolled down the hill. 

Ruby descended downwards, rolling like a barrel. Her body contorted all sorts of ways - she rolled on her side, then turned to the otherside. Next thing she knew, she was rolling backwards, facing the top of the hill, then rolling forwards, gaining speed towards the bottom. And then she’d lose her sense of direction, not knowing where she was facing. The world simply kept spinning and spinning, without letting Ruby get a grasp of herself.

Down, down she tumbled through the dense forest on the slope of the hill. She definitely had picked the perfect place to trip - Ruby would not escape from this unscathed. Her small, frail body constantly smashed into the thick tree stumps, leaving multiple bruises on her skin. Ruby was too stunned to scream, only whimpering whenever her body thudded onto another obstacle.

Ruby was travelling at a very fast speed, now, and each time she hit a tree, the force of impact grew stronger. She felt light-headed, and her stomach was about to throw up whatever she had for lunch.

All of a sudden, Ruby hit a rock and was tossed up, rolling several times in mid air. Her flailing right forearm managed to wedge itself between another large rock and a tree trunk. When Ruby came crashing down, her arm bent upwards, causing it to break, and sending a stab of pain through Ruby. She then landed on her left side, and the force of impact ripped her arm clean off from the shoulder.

Blood sputtered everywhere, leaving an inconsistent trail along half of the hill. Each time Ruby landed on her ripped socket, she stamped her bloody mark on the grass. And yet, all the while, Ruby didn’t think to scream. She was shocked into silence at the sudden turn of events to even remotely react to what was happening. 

Eventually, Ruby’s head slammed onto another rock, knocking her unconscious. The skin of her scalp tore open, and she left her bloody mark on the rock. Her limp body, after several more seconds of rolling, eventually came to a stop several meters away from the foot of the hill. 

Complete silence. The arm was still fastened to the wedge, and blood covered the trees, grass, and even Ruby. The colours of the sky had faded, and all that was left was a navy blanket covering Remnant. Stars awakened and dotted the sky. The shattered moon shone. 

Ruby, after 15 minutes, eventually came to. Her eyes slowly opened, searching her surroundings for a hint as to where she was. But she couldn’t see anything, as it was almost pitch black.

She took her time as she sat up. Her head throbbed. What had she been doing? The past 2 hours were nothing but a blur to her. She looked around, properly now, turning her head this way and that. All she knew was that she was next to the hill she regularly played on with Yang, but she doesn’t remember coming here. Nor does she remember her fight with Yang.

Ruby looked down at herself, and could see some dark stains on her dress. Probably dirt, she dismissed. Maybe she was just playing around, and wanted to have a little nap.

Time to go home. Her dad and sister would be waiting for her. Especially as she was out for so long. Ruby wondered how long she had been sleeping for.

Ruby stood up. It was now that she noticed that her right arm felt funny. Maybe she bruised it? Ruby looked down, and pulled up her dress sleeve.

Nope. Looked as good as new.

Ruby skipped all the way home, singing to herself.

Home. The lights were on throughout the house. Ruby knocked on the door.

Yang opened. Seeing Ruby at the door, she placed her hands on her hips and smirked. “Hmmph!” she scoffed. “Where’d _you_ run off to?”

“I don’t know,” said Ruby, pouting. “I must have fallen asleep.”

Yang looked at Ruby’s dress. It had patches of murky brown stains on it. Most likely dirt. It didn't look too much like dirt, but seeing as Ruby was outside for such a long time, she probably had some mud splashed on her.

“Well, we better get you showered and ready for bed huh?”

“Okie!” Ruby said, jumping. She was relieved to finally go to bed - her headache was gradually getting sorer, and she felt tired. She didn't tell Yang about the headache because she didn't want to burden her.

Yang thought it was weird that Ruby didn't remember their fight. She seemed pretty angry when she left. Oh well. Ruby couldn’t hold a grudge for long. 

“Let’s go!” Yang said, and the two hopped off to the shower.


	3. Two Years Earlier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby is being lectured by the headmaster of Beacon Academy, Ozpin, for being irresponsible. This will surely hamper her chances of getting into the school of her dreams...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters will be added every 1-2 weeks from now on.

“So, Ruby. You beat up all of the supposed ‘bad guys’ inside the dust shop, not giving a second thought as to why they might have been in there, destroyed the shop in the process, and even let the ringmaster get away?”

The headmaster of Beacon Academy, Ozpin, glared at Ruby through his small glass, hands folded underneath his chin, elbows resting on the table between them.

“B… but they touched my dress!” Ruby whined. “It was a knee-jerk reaction!”

“Oh, I’m sure causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage was most _certainly_ a knee-jerk reaction,” Ozpin scoffed. “And to think you want to become a huntress.”

“I do! Oh please, I’m sorry sir, it won’t happen again! I was just thinking… well, I don’t know exactly _what_ I was thinking, but I promise that I will do better!”

A girl who wasn’t even his student was apologizing to him? Ozpin had to try hard not to be visibly amused. Even so, a small smirk did push itself way forward. He should do this more often.

“Actually, Ruby wasn’t totally in the wrong here.” Glynda, the woman who had turned up in the middle of the altercation stepped forward from the darkness behind Ozpin. Ruby’s silver eyes widened, curious as to what she would think of the situation. “Those men were actually about to steal dust from the shop. And while Ruby’s execution of vigilante justice wasn’t perfect, she did the right thing by trying to stop them from stealing any more.”

Ruby bowed her head, not sure whether to be ashamed or flattered. 

“Do you know who they were?” she asked, curious as to who she was trying to take down.

“No,” Glynda replied. “That’s what the authorities are trying to find out.”

Silence descended between the three of them for a few moments. Ruby didn’t know what this would spell for her dreams of attending Beacon, seeing as one of the teachers had seen her perpetrate a possible crime. She knew that her heart was in the right place. But that was not up to her to decide.

“Cookies?” Glynda piped up, her voice all of a sudden sounding abnormally friendly. She whipped out a plate of chocolate chip cookies from seemingly nowhere, and set them down in front of Ruby.

Ruby hesitated, unsure of what to make of this gesture. “...Thanks?” 

“Try them,” Ozpin urged, having seemingly forgotten his anger. “Glynda makes the best cookies in all of Beacon.”

Ruby tentatively reached out to grab a cookie, not sure why the two were being so buddy-buddy now. Slowly, she popped it into her mouth. As she chewed, her eyes lit up. Damn! They _were_ good after all! She shoved the cookie in her mouth, and ate the rest of the cookies quickly, picking up another one as soon as she had popped one in her mouth. Both Ozpin and Glynda looked entertained by the sight.

“Say,” Ozpin said, “How would you like to join Beacon two years early?”

Ruby stopped mid-vacuum. “What?” she mumbled through the food stuffed in her mouth, spraying crumbs everywhere.

“Your fighting skills truly are impressive,” Glynda commented, ignoring the mess Ruby had just spread on the table (albeit visibly grimacing). “Your semblance is very well developed, and the skill you use with your weapon is admirable. I believe now is the best time to harness your skills and develop them further.”

Ruby couldn’t believe it. Entrance into Beacon two years early? Would she love to!

But it didn’t make sense. “Weren’t you chastising me for being irresponsible not even five minutes ago, Ozpin?”

“I was just playing around. I'm trying hard not to fit the stereotype of a strict headmaster.” He chuckled.

Ruby stared at Ozpin. _So_ amusing.

Ozpin continued. “I guess that means you’d be entering at the same time as your older sister, huh?” 

“That’s right,” said Glynda. “Do you accept, Ruby?”

Ruby smiled. “Of course! I’d love to!”

“Good,” said Ozpin, standing up and brushing off his coat. “We’ll be sending you a letter home notifying you of your acceptance. Your father will be immensely proud of you.”

Ruby nodded. But Ruby had things on her mind other than her father and sister’s approval.

Home. Ruby’s room. She laid on her bed, recounting the moments of the day. Her father and sister, as expected, were over the moon. 

“MY SISTER IS COMING TO BEACON WITH ME!!!!!!!!!” Yang had screamed, running around the house like a mad dog. 

“I know you’ll make us proud,” Taiyang said, patting Ruby on the head. 

Beacon two years early, huh? Everything she had ever wanted to do, put in motion earlier than planned. Become a successful huntress, give all the people hope...

And subsequently destroy every last shred of it.

Ruby stood up, filled with the same excitement than the one she had before. Gah, why didn’t they know who those people _were_? The ringmaster had looked so suave with his cane and jacket. His accomplices were quick and attentive on their feet. Ruby wanted nothing more than to know who they were so she could be just like them.

Her heart pulsed faster as she walked towards a large colourful poster hung up in her room. Her favourite rock band. She took out the pins that held it up, and threw the poster to the floor. A cork board revealed itself, filled with images of Beacon, its staff, and notable alumni and students. Names were written under each one of them, with sticky notes providing additional information about who they were. 

Two years earlier than planned. Ruby better make this count.

She picked up the poster and tacked it back onto the wall.


	4. Potential

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Salem hears good news - a potential successful candidate has been found!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I wrote this pretty much straight after I wrote the previous chapter, so you get some bonus content early. Thank you for all the support you have shown so far, be it through kudos, subscriptions, or simply checking this out!

Salem scowled at her failed creation, who lay motionless on a hard concrete slab. What a headache. Flors had to be sedated after she tried to kill Salem and her underlings for the gazillionth time. Hazel’s strength worked wonders - what would she ever do without him. But God knows how that girl keeps finding the guts to defy her and her orders.

_She’ll never learn,_ Salem thought to herself while rolling her eyes.

Making sure that Flors wouldn’t wake up for the next day or so, Salem headed out of the dungeon up towards the headquarters of her castle. All of her servants were seated at the grand table, awaiting her presence.

“Not too shaken up, I hope?” Salem’s velvet voice asked rhetorically. She sighed as she walked along. “It’s a shame. She’s probably the closest we’d ever gotten, and yet we are still so far. God knows if there are other candidates out there that have succeeded.” She nonchalantly sat down at the head of the table. “I wonder if this was a good idea after all.”

At that moment, the entrance to the castle slammed open, and Roman, Cinder and Neo sprinted their way towards Salem.

Salem’s eyebrows furrowed. No dust in hand, it seemed. They knew the repercussions, right? “Did you do what I asked you to?”

“No, Master,” Roman said, panting. “But. We’ve found something _better_.”

“Yes,” Salem whispered after Roman and Cinder finished recounting their story. “Yes!” she repeated, and proceeded to laugh maniacally. 

All the people seated at the table smirked, knowing what this news meant.

“Finally! All of my efforts have not gone in vain. We have achieved.” She remembered the sedated subject in the depths of her chambers. “We should dispose of Flors immediately. Tyrian, bring her to me this instant.”

Tyrian chuckled. “As you wish, Master.” He scurried to obey her orders, but Arthur’s words stopped him from going any further.

“Actually, Master, I advise not to do so.”

Salem’s smile dropped. What could possibly merit Arthur questioning her actions? But feeling that he could provide some useful information, she raised her eyebrows out of curiosity. “Go on.”

“You see, Master, this person whom they have found could actually give us information on what went wrong with Flors, should we choose to run tests on her. The results could potentially allow us to fix Flors. Disposing of her would be a waste of potential. If this girl truly is what Roman and Cinder say, we would not have one but _two_ warriors to our advantage, should we capture her.”

The corners of Salem’s mouth turned ever so slightly upwards, and she nodded slowly. “You are right, Arthur. Despite how… _aggressively annoying_ she is,” Salem spat out, “Flors isn’t too far gone, unlike the rest of our tests. Though some of them could potentially be fixed too, should we discover something out of this girl.”

She turned towards the three responsible for the news, her gaze stern and serious. “Cinder. Neo. Roman. Your task now is to bring the girl to me. I employ Emerald and Mercury to help you. Do not kill her. Bring her to me alive.”

“Yes Master,” the five said, and they immediately scattered.


End file.
